


Freak Show

by IndigoBloom



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Origin Story, Character Death, F/M, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Original Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-09-30 20:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17230424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoBloom/pseuds/IndigoBloom
Summary: A story about a the turbulent life of a man just trying to get by. He's been nearly killed, beaten, bruised, had his heart broken, but he's still standing. What will the Universe throw at him next?Note: This is a MADE UP universe with the characters from certain DC and MARVEL comics/movies. I am not using any lore from those movies. I just used code-names from the comics, and used what the characters look like in the comics/movies as reference for my characters.





	1. Downhill…

"O'Riley brothers Investigation Co. This is Jackson O'Riley speaking. How may I be of service today?". So far, my morning is normal. But it goes downhill from here.

"I need evidence for something," the person on the other side of the phone says, "but it'll be dangerous,"

"Please, ‘danger’ is my middle name," I say, "What do you need?"

"Evidence that the ACE chemical plant in downtown Gotham is getting rid of chemicals illegally,"

As they say this, I take notes, like Donovan has taught me.

I think by now, you are lost. Let me elaborate. 

As previously said, my name is Jackson O'Riley. Most people call me Jay. Donovan is my twin brother. We live in Gotham city, a city of filth, isolated from the rest of the world. Nothing modern, except select types of music and cars, can be imported into the city. It costs too much for our poverty stricken city. We were orphaned at age seven, and we had to learn all of our street skills the hard way. We are both 27, ginger, thin, and 6 ft. 4 in. We are private detectives, and what we didn't know was that by taking this case, we were putting our necks on the chopping block.

"Let me talk to my brother about this, and I'll get back to you," I say in a calm-yet-tough tone. At that moment Donovan walks in.

"What's up?" he asks.

"New case," I mouth as I hand my notes to him.

"I need evidence immediately, so I need your answer now," the person says, "Will you take the case?"

Donovan nods.

"Yes, we will," I say, "We'll get the evidence tonight and I'll fax it to you in the morning,"

"No, I need the evidence immediately, as I said," the other person says.

"Fine," I say, "I'll fax it to you as soon as I can, alright?"

"Ok," they say.

"Pleasure doing business with you," I say, and I hang up the phone

"So," Donovan says, "the chemical plant. What do you think they'd be doing that's illegal?"

"Maybe dumping chemicals somewhere bad," I say, "like the city water supply," 

"Well, only one way to find out," he says.

"I'll pack the weapons," I say as I get up.

\----------

_ Half hour later _

As we pull up to the factory, I get a feeling of impending doom. Maybe it's the plethora of black vehicles in the parking lot, but still.

"Stay low," Donovan says.

"Like ninjas, right?" I say.

"Yeah, ninjas,"

We get out of the car and sneak over to a side entrance. Donovan tries to open the door.

"Great," he says, "It's locked...as it should be,"

"Wait," I say, "I got it. Let me through,". I step forward to the door and take out some tools to pick the lock. I start to unlock the door.

"That's breaking and entering, you know," Donovan says.

"No it's not," I say, "It's just entering, if I don't break anything, which I won't,"

He is silent, but I know he rolls his eyes.

The door opens and we both sneak in, hand guns drawn.

As we creep in, we notice that the lights in the back of the factory are lit. Little did we know that the mob was holding a meeting. Maybe we were set up for ambush, I don't know.

We creep over to some barrels, hide behind them and make sure our guns are loaded. Donovan signals to me to go over to the catwalk stairway. We start to walk over there, but I see movement on the opposite wall, and I stop. I try to stop him, but I'm too slow. 

A gunshot rings out, and Donovan falls to the floor. 

I'm too afraid to yell, so I shoot five times in the direction of where the initial shot came from. I then run over to Donovan and drag him underneath the stairs. "Oh my god, Donovan," I sob, cradling his lifeless body, "I...I just...I can't lose you too. Please, don't be dead, please,"

He doesn't move. He isn't breathing. I can't believe I've just lost my only brother. My twin. My other half. 

I can't very well move the body, so I tuck him behind some barrels. I run for the stairs and onto the catwalk, bullets ricocheting off of the stairs behind me. I get to the top and run to the middle of the catwalk. 

Suddenly, someone gets the great idea to turn on the factory lights. The goons can see me now, and I them. I know what they are going to do, so I close my eyes and spread my arms. But I didn't expect this next part. 

After I close my eyes, I hear punches land, a gun fire, and I feel the catwalk lurch. I open my eyes and I see a black figure fighting the goons. I can only recognize him as one thing. Batman, but I don't think he came to my rescue.

All of a sudden, the second goon shoots the other wire holding up the catwalk. The section I'm standing on gives way, nearly flipping me over the side. I grab onto the rail, and the next thing I know, Batman's right next to me trying to help me up.

I look down at the vat of boiling, green, chemicals below me.

He grabs onto one of my hands, then the other, and is trying to pull me up. But my hands are sweaty, and I'm slipping. He can't hold on to me. I look into his eyes, trying to noiselessly plead to him to save me, but all his eyes say are, "Sorry, but I have to do this". 

He drops me.


	2. A New Beginning

I remember everything. I remember falling, and landing in the scalding hot chemicals below me. I remember the feeling of death creeping up on me, the thought that I might see Donovan soon, and…the darkness. Suddenly, I find that I'm floating on the surface of the chemicals. I open my eyes, and I see that it's daylight. I climb out of the vat, and I try to stand up, but my legs are too weak. I suddenly realize how hungry I am. I must have been in the chemicals a couple of days. I finally stand up, but that's when I realized that the chemicals must have dissolved my clothing. I'm…nude. Awkward. I see that there are jumpsuits that the workers wear hanging on the wall. I shakily walk over to the wall, take a jumpsuit, and put it on. I have to say, the jumpsuit wasn't very comfortable, especially without any underwear on, but I didn't care. For some reason, the only thing I could think of was revenge. Revenge on the mob for killing my brother, revenge on Batman for nearly killing me. But that's when the janitor walks in.

This janitor is a bit older in years, and he's whistling a song from "Mary Poppins" as he walks in. When he sees me, my face, specifically, he screams like he has just seen the devil himself. It wasn't a drawn out scream, just a short, 2-second scream. He runs the other direction, and I find the nearest exit and find my way on to the streets of downtown Gotham. 

As I'm walking down the street, I start to regret not taking a pair of boots. People are also giving me strange looks. One dude actually yelled, from his car, "The circus is that way,". I don't get it. That's when I notice my eyesight is not blurry anymore. I look at my hands and I see, too my horror, that they are stark white, and my fingernails are green. What have those chemicals done to me? I find a bar called "Freak Show", and when I get inside I see it's a little more than just a bar. It was a Burlesque night club. I had been wandering around the city all day, and it was getting dark, so I decided to stay for a little.

When I first get into the club, I walk up to a barista and ask a question. "Where's the bathroom?" I ask, and she just points me toward the back of the club. 

She doesn't seem to mind that I'm not wearing shoes, or how I look, which apparently, to everybody else, is utterly terrifying.

When I get to the men's room, I relieve myself before I check what I look like. I'm glad I did that, because I might have pissed myself if I didn't. When I look into the mirror, I see a complete stranger looking back at me. The chemicals that should have killed me turned my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes green, bleached my skin, turned my usually dark blue eyes to ice blue and made my lips a blood-like crimson color. But the most terrifying of all was what happened to my cheeks. Somehow, the chemicals had corroded the seams of my mouth all the way up to my cheek-bones. If I smiled too wide, or opened my mouth too far, the edges would separate, and you could see the inside of my mouth. I stumble away from the mirror, dumbstruck by what had happened to me. I stagger out to the club and try to find a free table the farthest away from anyone else. I must have fallen asleep because I am woken by a voice. A voice with a very fancy British accent. 

"Well, you've had a nasty day, haven't you?" the voice asks. 

I snap awake and try to find who said that, but it was kind of easy. 

It was a man who was sitting right across from me. He was rather short and was slightly balding. He had a rather pointed nose, had a monocle in his left eye, a cigar in his mouth, and he was wearing a tuxedo.

"Yeah. It was pretty bad," I say, "but, hey, it could have been worse. I could be dead," 

He extends a flipper-like hand across the table, and I shake it. "They call me the Penguin," he says, "I run the club. What's your name?"

"Jay, I think," I rub the back of my head, "My memory is still a little fuzzy,"

"Well, what happened to you, Jay?"

"I was dumped in to a vat of boiling chemicals. It almost killed me, but apparently someone up there in heaven either likes me or hates me,"

He chuckles. "Who dumped you into the chemicals?" Penguin asks.

"Well," I say, "to put it this way, a demon with wings and pointed ears. Can you guess who it was?"

"The 'caped crusader', Batman?" Penguin scoffs, "He is nothing but trouble. He tried to close my club once. I didn't let him touch even a shot glass,"

"Well, after he was too late to save my twin brother from being shot by the mob, he tries to save me, which ended, obviously, in a fail,"

"Wow. That's harsh. Well, at least there was a bright side to that,"

"And what would that be?" I glower at him.

"You remembered your brother," 

"True, but I forget what he looks like. So is the curse of an amnesiac,"

He just nods, takes a long draw from his cigar, exhales, and starts a different conversation. "The thick and thin of it is," he says, "Freak Show is going down. We have run out of musicians. I mean, the Dancers always draw a crowd, but they are always small crowds. We used to get a full house every night," he sighs, "Those were the good old days,"

I don't know what came over me, but this made me really sad. "I can play an electric guitar," I offer.

"What do you play?" he asks, "Original songs or covers?"

"Mostly Metallica covers," I admit.

"Hmm...I need to see this for myself," he mutters to himself.

"Do you have a guitar?"

"Yeah, right there, on the stage,"

I walk up to the stage, grab the guitar (which was red, black, and white pinstriped) and play the opening riff, and the guitar part, to "One", one of my favorite Metallica songs. I zone out as I play, closing my eyes, and not missing a single note. I don't know how, but I kind of went into a trance or meditative state as I played. When I finished, I heard applause. Penguin's eyes are wide in amazement. I had impressed him.

"That was amazing," he said, with a very noticeable tone of amazement, "You weren't even looking,"

"Strange thing was," I say, "I forgot my problems. I thought I was just playing in my room, and Donovan was in the other room," I try to choke back tears.

"Would you like to be one of my newest musicians?" he asks me "We could get you a new outfit, and whatever you want,"

I think about this for a bit. It could be a small respite from the crushing depression I often find myself in. 

"Ok, but I need a few things,"

"Anything,"

"I need this guitar," I say, lifting the guitar I had just played, "I also need a mask and a place to stay,"

"Consider it all done," Penguin says, standing up, "If you would follow me, I will take you to the wardrobe room, and you can pick out your new clothing," 

He starts to head backstage, and I bring the guitar and follow him.

The wardrobe room was bigger than I thought it would be. I picked out some very interesting things. My outfit consists of black and white pinstripe pants with tattered cuffs, a deep purple shirt (I always keep the top button unbuttoned), bright red suspenders, a green tail coat, and a pair of black boots. I also found an old hockey mask with a smiley face spray-painted on it, which will be my mask for when I go onstage. The name we chose for me is very…mysterious. My stage name is now "The Green Phantom". 

Penguin has given me a small spot in the sewers underneath the club to call my own. It's not what I would call a conventional apartment, but the acoustics are great. I have some old furniture that used to be in the club and the performers lounge. What's great is that nothing matches! It looks like it belongs to an insane person, which, technically, it does. It has been a few weeks since I started practicing songs for my performances, but tonight's the big night. My first performance. I feel sick to my stomach.

"So, Jay," I hear a voice from behind me. I turn around and see that Penguin is behind me. "Have you ever been on stage before?" he asks.

"No," I say, "I've only ever performed for Donovan,"

"You'll do fine," he assures me, "You are really good at what you do,"

I sigh. 

Penguin goes on stage and introduces me. "Attention, attention!" he starts, "I have a special treat for you. Now, for a warning, we did get any and all copyright permission for this performer, so don't try to sue us. This is also this performers first show, so be kind. But I'm sure he won't disappoint. Now, without any further ado, the Green Phantom!"

Just before the curtains part, I pull down my mask. I don't want anyone to run out of the club, screaming. I step onto the stage, up to the mic, and I just say, "Hello, tonight I'm going to play you an assortment of Metallica songs. I hope you enjoy,". I start with One (that got raucous applause), then I play Master of Puppets (which got the same reaction as One), then Frayed Ends of Sanity (which got a bigger round of applause), and I ended with Nothing Else Matters (which got a standing ovation). I go backstage after the show and I'm trying not to cry. I wish Donovan was here to see that.


	3. Rooftop Walk

When I'm not practicing, or if I don't have a show, or if I just need to get away for a bit, I walk on-top of the roofs of nearby buildings. Today I had run into some...trouble. As I'm standing on the edge of a building, brooding, I watch a crime unfold. It started like this.

A rather young lady with red hair in a black dress and bright red overcoat is walking down the street, probably going home from a job. But then I notice she's being followed by a very shady looking man. I notice that he's holding a very menacing looking knife. He catches up to her and forces her into the alleyway below me. 

"Do I really have to be a hero today?" I mutter to myself. I decide that I need to, so I climb down the fire escape, as quiet as I can, and I stand right behind the thug. "You know," I say, "that's not very gentlemanly,"

The thug turns around, still holding his knife. "What do you care? Just…stroll on back to the circus," he says, smiling. I can see his teeth, which are very dirty.

"Well funny you should say that and smile, because funnily enough…" I silently chuckle, "I need to show you something,". I take my mask off, all the while I'm laughing, a very high-pitched, hysterical laugh. When my mask is off, I smile as wide as I can.

The thug steps back, but doesn't retreat.

"Huh, that's new," I say, "People usually run and scream when they see my face,"

"You're quite the joker, aren't you," the woman says.

"Shut up!" the thug yells.

"Because  _ I'm _ a gentleman," I say, "I will let you choose which weapon you want me to fight you with,". I open my coat to show my entire arsenal. Why I have weapons with me, I don't know. I just do. My arsenal is made up of three sets of throwing knives, five hunting knives, four handguns, ten hand grenades, eleven smoke bombs, and three vials of Cyanide. 

He looks at the selection of weapons and points at one. "That one," he says, "The puny little knife. You won't be able to defeat me with that,"

"It's not the size that matters," I mutter, winking at the woman, "it's the way you use it,"

The thug and I stand lengthwise down the alley, staring at each-other. He charges at me, swishing his knife wildly.

"Now, that's your first mistake," I say and I dodge him and trip him at the same time. "See, you weren't stable enough," I say, "but I'll let you have another try,"

The thug's nose is bleeding, so he wipes it. 

I help him up, and we start again. This time I actually arm myself. I put the knife he chose (which was, if you're interested, a very small throwing knife) in a device in my coat that will eject the knife at the flick of a wrist. 

He runs at me again, but this time I catch him by the throat, choking him.

"You see, I don't take very kindly to men bullying women and taking advantage of them," I say, "I find it…disgusting. So, there was no possible way you could have won this. Sorry if I gave you false hope,"

He tries to say something, but my hand is hindering his breathing. I then eject the knife, force his mouth open, and (because it's the easiest path to the brain) force the knife, down to the handle, into the roof of his mouth. His blood spurts everywhere, and it covers the front of my shirt, my hand, and my arm. I take the knife out of his mouth and let him drop to the ground. "Great, Penguin is going to kill me. I ruined my only shirt," I mutter to myself. 

The woman is still behind me. I can tell because I hear her panting. She steps out from behind me.

"What was that that you said earlier?" I ask.

"You just killed a man, and you're asking me to remember something?" I notice that she has a very thick Brooklyn accent. 

I turn towards her. "You know I'm still armed,"

She steps back. "I said, 'You're quite the joker, aren't you?'" 

I look up and start thinking. "Jok…er. Joke…r. Joker.  _ The _ Joker," I say, "That is way better than the Green Phantom,"

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"What's your name?" I ask her.

"Sheesh," she says, "you go here, there, and everywhere when you're with someone, don't-cha?"

"That's a double entendre if I ever did see one," I mutter, "Just, answer the question,"

"Hailey. Hailey Quinton," she says.

"Well, Hailey Quinton, forget that I was ever here. And whatever you do, don't follow me," I turn around to leave.

"But…" she says.

"But what? You owe me nothing,"

"I owe you my life," 

"I…don't know," I say, rubbing the back of my neck, "I could have just let you die. But my better judgement took over. You have no need to thank me,"

"Wait! What's your name?"

"Just call me Jay,"

"Ok, I should go home now,"

"Yup. See ya,"

She walks away, and I turn and go into a manhole behind me.

\----------

_ Meanwhile _

(Hailey’s POV)

I'm hiding behind a corner, watching that man disappear into the sewers. 

"What a strange man. I'd better say thank you…but how? Ooh! I know! A cake!" I say to myself. When I get home I start to make the cake. By 10:30, I'm putting frosting on the cake. That's when Catlin, my roommate, walks in.

"Something smells good! Is it my birthday? Wait, how could I have forgotten that…" She says as she walks in.

"Cat! Good, you're home," I say, "I need help deliverin' this,"

"What? What happened today?"

"Well, long story short, a man saved me from being killed today, so this cake is to thank him," 

The cake is green, purple, red, and has "thank you" written on it. I don't know what kind of cake he likes so I made it a chocolate, vanilla, red-velvet marble cake. It turned out pretty good.

"Where does he live?" Cat asks.

"The sewers," I say.

"WHAT!?" she basically screams, "Do you expect me to go into the sewers?"

"No," I say, "you can just walk with me to the sewers, but you don't have to go in to the sewers,"

She grumbles a bit. She wouldn't have been late to her night job either way. "Fine," she finally says, "I'll go with you, but if we run into rats, I'm leaving,"

"I knew you couldn't resist an adventure," I smile, picking up cake-box that has the cake inside it.

\----------

_ A half-hour later _

Cat and I walk down the alley to the manhole, but she stops half way. She's looking at a large, red stain on the pavement. "Is this where…" she trails off, speaking in barely a whisper.

"Yeah, right here," I say, "It was awful to watch, but I couldn't look away. It was like a dream, or a nightmare,". I turn around and walk over to the manhole. "Hey, could you hold this?" I ask, "I don't want to set it on the ground,"

"Why? What are you doing?" she protests, but she takes the cake anyway.

I don't tell her what I'm going to do, so I just show her. I walk over to the manhole, and I actually lift it. Didn't think I was strong enough to do that. I start to climb down into the sewers, and when I get to the bottom of the ladder, I call up to Cat. "Hey! Can you pass the cake down? Then you can climb down and join me,"

Cat grumbles a little. "Are there rats?" she asks.

I look around. "Not that I can see,"

She grumbles a bit more, but then she passes the cake down. 

"Watch your step as you come down. High heels aren't the best shoes to be climbing ladders in," I say, because I had slipped maybe three times climbing down.

She gets to the bottom and gets out a flash-light. We look around. There are two ways to go. "So," Cat finally says, "Which way are we going?"

I notice that the way to the right has a light at the end of it. I may be only a criminal phycologist, but a light seems like what would be in a place to live. "Well, how about the way that has light coming from it?" I say.

Cat looks the same direction I am. "Oh," She says, "That seems like a good idea,"

As we walk, we notice that there's not only light, but yelling coming from the direction we're going. We stop to listen to who's talking.

"For the last time, Penguin, I'm not going on-stage without my mask on!" we hear one person say, "Do you really want to lose customers that only come to see me? I would probably scare them to death!"

"No you wouldn't!" the other person (obviously this Penguin guy) says.

"How do you know that? Give me a good reason not to wear my mask,"

"People would love to see the Joker's face! More people would come to the club to see you!"

There's silence after that, although you could hear someone tapping their foot.

"Fine," the other person says, "I'll do it,"

Cat and I are starting to head back when I hear Cat screech. "That was a rat! A rat! Sorry," Cat says loudly.

"You should be, you just blew our cover," I say to her.

"Hailey?" we hear a third voice say.

We look at the lighted entrance to a place in the sewers and I see a very familiar silhouette.

"Hey, Jay," I say sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?"

I walk into the lighted area. I see that he has an entire apartment space down here.

"I came to give you a cake to thank you for saving me today,"

"I thought I told you not to follow me, let alone thank me,"

"But...I...ok, I'll just leave the cake here and go then,". I find a table and set the cake on it. I start to go to where Cat is. "Come on Cat, let's go home,"

"Wait," the Penguin guy says, "did you say 'Cat'? Kitty-Cat, is that you? What are you doing here?"

Cat then steps out of the shadows.

"Cat, how do you know him?"

"He's...my boss," she says, "for my night job,"

"And you're..."

"A burlesque dancer," she looks down at the ground.

"Oh..." I say, "well...that's...new. When did this start?"

"That's on a need to know basis," she says looking up at me suddenly, "and at the moment, you don't need to know,"

"Ooo...sassy!" Jay says, "Hailey, you have great taste in roommates,"

"We've known each-other since high-school," I say, "so we decided it would be easier to share an apartment,"

"HELLO! I'm still here you know," Cat says.

"Well," Penguin says, "I guess I won't count you as late, today,"

"Thanks, boss. Any big parties today?" Cat asks.

"Actually, yes," he says, "A big birthday party for the biggest mob boss in Gotham,"

"Wait, WHAT!?!?," Jay says, turning on Penguin and stalking toward him, "You...expect me...to play...without my mask...in front...of...the...MOB?!?!?!?!"

"Yes, I do," Penguin says calmly, "You have nothing to worry about, they won't recognize you...hopefully,"

"Yeah, let's hope,"

"Soo..." I say, "I guess I should go home now, right?"

Jay turns to me. Is it bad that I find him attractive? Well...it might be, but I don't care. "You can come to the show," he says, "as my own personal guest. I have a table reserved for me. Even guests for parties can't sit at it. Only my guests. So, what do you say, Hailey," he grabs my hand. His hand feels almost hot and cold at the same time. "Will you come to the show?"

"OH...umm...yeah!" I say, "Yeah, I will! Just let me go home and get some better clothes on,"

"You can borrow a dress from the wardrobe," he says pulling me a bit farther from the sewers.

"OH...ok. Let's go,"

He leads me up to the club, which the decorations in it make my kind of place, and to the wardrobe. 

We look through the dresses for a bit, goof off (I tried to convince Jay to try on a dress. He kept refusing, but I eventually got him to put on a tutu over his pants), and we finally decide on a really cute dress. 

It's a strapless dress that comes up about two to three inches above my knee. It's black, white, and red in the harlequin pattern. I wear fishnet leggings under it. 

Jay also helps me with some makeup. He just gives me black and red eyeshadow, red lipstick and a small black diamond, drawn in eyeliner, under my right eye. We only tie my hair into pigtails, because it's already crimson red.

"There, you look beautiful," Jay says.

"Thank you," I say, "Oh, I wanted to tell you that I really like your outfit. It's very...crazy. In a good way,"

He smiles at me, mouth closed, which was kind of interesting. Imagine drawing a smile on yourself, and then smiling in a mirror.

He turns and offers his elbow. "M'lady," he says in a fake British accent.

I giggle and take it. 

We walk out of the wardrobe, into the club, and he puts me at a table in the very back of the club, but it has a very good view of the stage. I thought I was going to have a good night.

That was when the Mob walks in.


	4. The Mob

(Jay’s POV)

"Perform with your mask off," he said. "It'll be fun," he said. Well, he was WRONG! 

"Well, well, well," I hear from behind me. It's a gruff voice with a New York accent, "the little wimp from the Chemical plant refused to die. What the hell was going through your head?"

"Well, if death was a choice, I wouldn't be here. I would have died a long time ago,"

"You didn't answer my question,"

"What was going through my head? Well, most definitely not rainbows and unicorns. I can sum up what I was thinking to one word," I turn around so I'm looking the man in the eyes, "Revenge,"

"Was that a threat?" he says, "I better warn you, even though it's my birthday, I don't take kindly to threats,"

"You bet your ass that was a threat," I say, "Oh, and I better warn you that I can refuse to entertain you tonight, so...get out of my face,"

He then gets closer to me, which then I realized that he isn't used to the lighting (or lack thereof) in the club. He stumbles backward, obviously horrified. "Jesus, kid!" he says, "What happened to you?"

"Well, this," I circle my face with my hand, "is not what I want revenge on you about. You know why I want revenge,"

"Oh, yeah. Your brother," he says, "Well, If Scott didn't have such a jumpy trigger finger, he may still be alive, but that damned Batman killed Scott. So...are we good?"

"Most definitely NOT!" I say, "I lost my only brother because...of...you! I bet it was one of your cronies who called us to check out the chemical factory! Was it?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh, I believe you do,"

"Joker!" I hear from across the room. I look at the stage, and Penguin is there, looking enraged.

"Whoops, I did something wrong, didn't I?" I whisper to myself.

"You better go, Mr. Jay!" Hailey says, "Penguin looks like he means business,"

"What happened to just, 'Jay'?" I ask.

"'Mr. Jay' sounds better, doesn't it?" she says.

"Well, let's think of a nickname for you later,"

"Come on, Romeo, let's go!" Penguin yells.

I run, as fast as my legs can carry me, to the stage where Penguin is waiting for me.

"Come on, we're running late!" he says, "Let's start the show!"

"Okay, okay!" I say, climbing onto the stage, "Don't get your flippers in a knot,"

After that last comment, Penguin grumbled something about species discrimination. He heads backstage.

I walk on to the stage, grab my guitar, and walk up to the microphone, with my guitar strung onto my back.

"I'm sorry to disappoint any of you," I say, "but Penguin had just told me that he can't talk today. Cat's got his tongue. Meow. Only my close friends will get that joke, sorry," I hope Hailey got that joke, "but, let's get serious for a moment. Were here today to wish a very special, and scary man, a very happy birthday. To Mr. Solomon, may my brother have mercy on your soul," I had a glass of stout on stage with me (being Irish, stout is what I usually have during shows) so as a toast, I took a sip with everyone else. "Mr. S," I say, "I was joking about my brother. It wasn't you, it was your crony. Let us forgive and forget, alright. Now, let's get down to the good part,". I play the opening riff to "Shortest Straw", and everyone burst into applause.

\----------

_ Later that evening _

I'm taking Hailey on a walk over the tops of the buildings to her apartment. We start talking about weird things, but after twenty minutes, we get into some more...serious stuff.

"Jay," Hailey says, "what happened to your brother?"

I stop and sigh. It feels like I'm about to cry, but I don't want to embarrass myself in front of her.

"He was...shot," I say, "By one of Solomon's thugs. He died instantly,"

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she says, "That must have been horrible,"

"It felt like a part of me died when he did. The part of me that enables me to love. I thought that part would never come back," then I stop walking and turn to her, "but then I met you,"

She looks at me, eyes wide in surprise. "Awe...Jay!" she says, smiling, "I had no idea you felt that way! You don't really show emotions, other than insanity and anger. What I mean to say is, I feel the same way about you. I know it's crazy to ask this, but...do you believe in 'love at first sight'?"

"Most definitely," I say, "since it happened today...err...yesterday," 

She giggles, and that's when I notice that we're standing above her apartment.

"Here, let me help you," I say, and I hop down to the fire escape below us. She is sitting on the edge of the building, so I reach up, grab her lightly around the waist, and help her down onto the fire escape.

"This is my room," she says.

I open the window, and help her into the room. I'm actually so sad for this night to end. "When can I see you again?" I ask.

"I don't know," she says, "but if I absolutely need you, I know where you are,"

Somehow, this doesn't comfort me. I really want to see her again.

It seems like she could read my mind (or my face), because she KISSES me. ON THE LIPS! I've never felt this happy in my life, ever.

"Now go, before I try to convince you to stay," she says.

I just nod, but I know I'm smiling like a fool. On the walk home, I don't walk, I run. I leap over every alleyway, and I do some really awesome parkour. I just had my first kiss with the woman I love, and I think she is going to be the only woman I love. When I get back to my sewer-apartment, Penguin is sitting on an armchair, reading.

"So," he says, "how did it go?"

I'm trying to hide my excitement, but Penguin can see through acts like glass. I shrug, acting like nothing much happened, but he looks at me over his reading glasses.

"Tell me the truth, Jay," he says.

"Alright. She...kissed me,"

"Really!" he says, "She did? Well, congratulations!"

I heave a deep sigh and flop onto the nearest couch. "I've never felt like this before," I say, "If this is love, I never want it to go away again,"

"Alright, I'll leave you to sleep. Goodnight, Jay,"

"Goodnight,"

After Penguin leaves, I take my shoes off, turn off the lights and lay on a mattress in the corner of my apartment. I stare up at the ceiling. "Goodnight, Hailey," I whisper.

\----------

_ The next morning _

I'm making myself breakfast, when I hear a high pitched crying from the sewers. I'm wearing a shirt, but my suspenders are hanging, since I took them off of my shoulders. I rush to the entrance of the sewers, just in time to catch a very upset Hailey.

She's crying too much to stand, but I'm still surprised that she walked all the way here. Her usually neat hair was a mess and her eye liner was running.

"Hailey! Are you okay?"

"Other than being fired by Bruce Wayne himself, for no reason," she says in-between sobs, "and nearly being attacked by guys on the streets, THREE TIMES, I'm perfectly fine. JUST PEACHY!!!"

"Woah, calm down," I say, "Tell me what happened,"

"Well..." she starts, "apparently Bruce Wayne thinks that ‘downsizing a department’ means firing the most experienced and dependable person in that department! He fired ME! All of my clients always get over their problems and they always become better citizens!". She then starts to cry uncontrollably.

"Hailey!" I say, "Who cares what he thinks! You are the best person I have ever met! If you can dream it, I believe with all my heart and soul, you can do it. Believe me, you don't need the say of some corporate asshole to tell you what you can or can't do or be,"

"Really?" she sniffs, "How do you know?"

"Because," I say, "you turned one man from a possible villain to a possible hero,"

"Do you have this much faith in yourself?" she looks up at me with her bright green eyes.

"To quote something I saw once, 'I can conquer the whole world with one hand, as long as the other is holding yours',"

She then lays her head on my shoulder. She stopped crying. 

"You have a nickname for me..." I say to her.

"That is true, Mr. Jay," she says.

"So, let's think of a name for you,"

"Well..." she says, "I do like the harlequin pattern on the dress I had last night,"

"Let's work with that," I say, "We can split it up into two words. Well...'harle-' sounds like 'Harley', and 'quinn' sounds like your last name so...how about 'Harley Quinn'?"

"Harley...Quinn?" she says slowly, "Hmm...that sounds cool!"

"Now all you need is an outfit,"

"Does that mean another trip to the wardrobe?"

"Yes, it does,"

"Yay," she says weakly. Wow, she really has cried herself to exhaustion.


	5. A Kidnapping

Hailey…you know what? I'm just going to call her Harley.  _ Harley's _ new outfit is very…her.

She has a pair of skin-tight, black jeans with three red diamonds painted on her right upper thigh, a pair of high-heeled, tall, red boots, and a red tank top over a black long sleeved shirt. We also find a half-red-half-black masquerade mask, and we tie her hair back up into ponytails, but she finds black hair-dye and she dyes the tips of her hair. I then take her back down into my apartment, and give her a gun-holster and a handgun.

Then, Penguin walks into my apartment. He looks very scared, sad and in disbelief.

"What is it, Penguin?" I ask.

He plops down onto a couch. "She's dead," he says in barely a whisper.

"Who?"

"Cat. Batman…he…he pushed her off of a building," he then begins to silently cry.

"This Batman is a menace," I growl, "She was innocent! He only protects the rich people of Gotham, not the everyday person. Well, he's made a big mistake. Now I can gain their trust, and turn them against him,"

"Well, we have to figure one thing out, in order to defeat him," Harley says.

"What's that?"

"Who he is,"

I have to think of this for a bit. But how? "What if we kidnap the Mayor?" I say. 

They both start to protest loudly, but I quiet them.

"HEY! Just…hear me out. If we kidnap the Mayor, and send good ol' Batsy a video message saying that we have him, give him a ransom, that he probably won't pay, and tell him where we're keeping the Mayor, he'll come to us, probably fight one or two of us, while the others place  an undetectable tracking device on the Batmobile, and we escape, give him the Mayor, and track him to his hideout. Then we will use the coordinates to find out where it is, and probably find out who he is,"

"That plan is very complicated," Penguin says, obviously depressed.

I then walk over to Penguin and slap him across the face. 

He suddenly looks both surprised and angry. 

"Snap out of it!" I say, "I know you're depressed, so do this in Catlin's name,"

"Alright, just don't shout at me!" he shouts back

"Ok, let's go,"

\----------

_ Half hour later _

We drive a white van to the Mayor's office, and park it in a alleyway by a service hatch.

"Ok," I say, still in the van, "Who's going first?"

"You can," Penguin says to me.

"You know I'm claustrophobic," I say to him.

"If you two aren't going to stop being babies, I'll go first," Harley says, and she gets out of the van, opens the service hatch, and crawls in.

I follow her, since I don't want Penguin's face in her…well, you know what I mean. And, if I may say so myself, the view *wink* was lovely. *Sigh* she's perfect. *snaps out of daze* Wha-? OH! 

We crawl through the vents for a bit, when Harley stops.

"We're right below the mayor's office," she whispers.

"Okay, is he in there?" I whisper back.

"I don't…" she starts, but then there is someone opening the door to the room above us.

"…could you clear my schedule this evening? I want to take my son to a baseball game," the person says as they walk into the room.

This is it. Time to kidnap the Mayor. I take a sleep-smoke bomb off of my belt, I raise the bandana I'm wearing around my neck, and so does Harley and Penguin, I open the vent we're next to, pull the pin on the bomb, and toss into the Mayor's office.

"What the…? *cough, cough, hack* What is going on? *Cough, Gasp, Thump*"

We all crawl out of the vent, and I go over to the fire alarm on the wall. I pull it, and I go over to the Mayor, sling him over my shoulder, kick the office door down, and run down the hall. "Come on!" I yell behind me.

Harley and Penguin are there in an instant. 

We get outside, and we run to the van. 

I toss my keys to Harley, and she hops into the driver's seat, while Penguin is opening the back of the van. 

We get inside, close the back, I bang on the roof twice, signaling to Harley to drive, and we tie the Mayor to a chair. I also put Duct Tape on his mouth, so when he wakes up he doesn't make much noise. "WooHoo! We did it!" I exclaim.

Penguin is just laughing.

\----------

_ Later _

We pull up to the Docks, and the Mayor is just starting to stir.

I sit in front of him. "Mr. Mayor, I'm so honored for you to grace us with your presence," I say, when he's fully awake.

He struggles and tries to scream. 

"Oh, don't worry, your completely safe. Here, want me to take the tape off?"

He nods frantically.

I reach over and rip the tape off of his mouth.

"Don't kill me!" he says, "Please, don't kill me! I'll give you anything you want!"

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you," I say, "I'm just going to…hold you hostage until Batman comes to rescue you. It would be stupid to kill my bait. Speaking of which, Penguin! Give me the camera,"

Penguin hands me a small camcorder.

I turn it on, face the lens toward me, and press record. "Hello, Batsy!" I say, "My name is the Joker. I'm the newest villain in town, and I have something you may want," I face the camera toward the Mayor, "Say 'Hi'!" I face it back at me, "If you want him alive, meet me at the docks, at midnight…alone. No tricks. I just want to talk. I just needed to get your attention first. Ok, I guess I'll see you then!". I stop the recording, and I take the cassette out of the camera. I write "For Batman" on it in permanent marker. I step out of the van and find the nearest person. "Hey," I say to them, "Want twenty bucks?"

"Yeah, sure," they say.

"Here, just take this to the Gotham Police Department," I give them twenty bucks and the cassette.

They run toward the city.

I go back inside the van. "Batman will be here before we know it," I say to the Mayor, Penguin, and Harley.


	6. Secrets Reviled

I was  _ painfully _ correct. 

Within a half an hour, we hear a vehicle drive up to the van. We hear a door open, and softly close, and heavy footsteps on the dock. "Alright, Joker," we hear the person say, "Come out, come out, wherever you are,"

I go to the back of the van and open it. "Boo," I say as I step out. I see the man, the myth, the legend…Batman.

"Where is he?" Batman says.

"All in good time. I said I wanted to talk. Let me tell you a story; About six months ago, you went to the Chemical Plant about a quarter mile from where we're standing, because you got an anonymous tip that there were gunshots heard. You go to the Plant, beat the shit out of some gangsters, and then try your best to save an innocent man, but fail. Well, that man has something to say to you. Hello! I'm the civilian you dropped into a vat of chemicals! How did that feel on your conscience? Well, you can now sleep at night knowing I'm alive and kicking, but…I will never be the same. My brother is dead because of those gangsters, I nearly died because of you. Now, tell me, what did Caitlin Anne Taddi do to deserve being pushed off of the Wane Industries Tower?"

"She was poking her nose into dangerous things," he says, "She was looking in the files of Wane Industry employees, past and present,"

"Maybe she was just curious," I say.

"Well, curiosity killed the Cat," Batman smiles slightly.

"You apologize for that, now!" I hear Penguin yell from behind me, "It's your fault that she's dead! I'll kill you for that!" 

I turn around to see Harley holding him back from charging at Batman.

"It's alright," I say to them, "You can come out, but no fighting,"

They get out of van, Harley closes the back, and they both walk over to me. Harley stands on my right, and Penguin on my left. 

"He's right, though. You killed her," I say to Batman.

"I wouldn't say that," we hear a voice from behind Batman.

Batman turns around and we all look behind him. We see a woman dressed in skin-tight black pants, a black leather jacket, tall black leather boots, black gloves, and green lensed night vision goggles. She also has a whip on her belt, hanging behind her, which makes it look like a tail.

"Cat?" both Penguin and Harley say at the same time.

"Well, yes and no," she says, "I'm Catwoman. I'm here for revenge," She takes her whip out and cracks it at Batman.

Then the fight breaks out.

Penguin takes a knife from me, which surprises me. He's not one for violence. He rushes at Batman and starts swishing the knife at him.

Harley picks up a plank of wood and swings it at Batman, like a baseball bat or a sledge hammer. 

Cat is still fighting him with her whip.

I guess this next part is up to me, then. I sneak back to the van, and I go over to a box sitting in the passenger's seat. I take out a little beacon looking thing.

"What's going on out there?" the Mayor asks.

"Keep your mouth shut, and you won't have to worry about it," I say to him. I hop out of the back of the van, and I sneak over to the Batmobile. I look it up and down for the perfect place. "Where would not be scanned…" I whisper to myself. Then I see the perfect place. The fin at the top. I clip the tracking device onto it with an industrial strength clamp that I made myself, and then I run back to the van. When I get back to the van I untie the Mayor, and I walk him out of the van. "Hey, Batman! You can have him!" I start to yell, but then I look at Batman. I begin to get more and more angry as I survey the scene.

He has Harley in a choke-hold, and is holding a knife to her neck. 

She's kicking and clawing at his arms, but each kick gets weaker and weaker. She's suffocating.

Cat and Penguin are on the ground, knocked out cold…hopefully. 

This is the last straw.

I drop the mayor, take out a large hunting knife and run at Batman, yelling, "LET HER GO!". I get to him and I slash his arm. He lets go of Harley, and I catch her.

"Jay!" she says.

"Go!" I say, "Get Penguin and Cat, get them to the van, and get back to Freak Show. I'll meet you there,"

"But what if you don't?"

I look her in the eyes. "I will," I say.

She nods and runs toward Penguin and Cat.

I turn around, and I stand face to face with Batman.

"What grudge do you have with me?" he asks.

"No one…messes…with…my…loved ones," I say, through gritted teeth.

"Love is a distraction," he says, "That's why I work alone,"

"I DON'T CARE!" I yell, "You were hurting Harley, so now I'll hurt you,"

"Hit me with your best…" 

I don't wait for the last word, I punch him in the face. 

He stumbles back, but gathers himself quite quickly. He goes for a right hook, but I catch his arm, and I kick him in the stomach.

He doesn't seem phased by that, so I take out my knife again. He fakes a left hook, but he kicks me in the…junk.

I stumble back in pain, slightly whimpering. Man, that hurts like hell! If you're not a man, or if you are and you've never been kicked there, you wouldn't understand. I go down onto my hands and knees, one hand on my…you know. I don't care who you are, or who you're fighting, if it's a dude, you don't just kick or hit them in the family jewels. If Harley was there to see that, that would be embarrassing. "What the hell, dude?" I yell at him, "You don't kick another man there! Don't you have a sense of honor?"

"Well, when it comes to scum like you, I don't," he says. He walks away, and goes over to the Mayor. He takes him over to the Batmobile, but then walks back over to me.

At this point in time, the throbbing pain in my nether regions has subsided, but it still hurts. I have both of my hands on the ground now, and I'm still on my hands and knees.

"I don't know why I'm sparing you," He says, "But if you ever pull something like that again, I won't," He kicks me in the balls again.

This time I actually exclaim in pain. I fall over on my side, and I hear the Batmobile drive away.

I slowly get up, and I then realize that I have to walk back to Freak Show. This is not going to be comfortable. I walk through the back alleys of Gotham, seeing as people would look at me weird if I walked on the main street, and I'm in too much pain to walk on the rooftops. It takes me about forty-five minutes to get back to Freak Show, and when I get inside, I find the nearest chair and sit down. I give a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Penguin asks, holding an ice pack to his head.

"He kicked me in the worst place a man can be kicked," I say.

Penguin winces, but Cat and Harley stifle laughter.

"Why is it that when a man gets kicked in the balls, women laugh, but other men feel sorry?" I ask Penguin.

"I don't know," he answers.

"Well, what we will know," Harley says, "Is where Batman goes after he drops the Mayor back at town hall,"

She has a laptop on the table in front of her and is looking at the program we wrote for the tracking device.

I walk over to her, stiffly, and I look at the screen. "Looks like he's headed out of the city," I say.

The red blip that indicates the tracking device then suddenly stops. 

"There," I say, "write down those coordinates,"

Harley gets out a pen and paper, and writes them down. She then gets out a map of the city and a ruler. She uses the ruler to find where those coordinates are on the map. When she finally gets them, she laughs.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"Well, look where he went," and she shows me the map.

I look at it, and she has a little area circled. No, it can't be. "That's the old Wane estate," I say, "Your old boss lives there,"

"And that means…" she says.

"No!" I exclaim.

"Yup!"

"Batman is Bruce Wayne!"


	7. Blackmail

I can't believe it. I have something to blackmail Batsy with. "How are we going to use this to our advantage?" I ask Harley.

"Well, we need to confirm our theory," Harley says, "Oo, Bruce always has a huge Christmas party. How about I sneak in, and you and a bunch of people hide in the back of the house. When I can, I'll let only you in, and you can search the house while I distract Bruce. When you find proof, go to the backdoor where I let you in and let everyone else in. Then, we'll storm the party, and you can reveal to the entire party that Bruce Wayne is Batman,"

I look at Harley. "You are really good at making plans on a whim," I say, "It's scary how good you are at it,"

She just shrugs.

"Well, we'll need a group of people, like some mercs or something, to help," Penguin says.

"Leave that to me," I say.

\----------

_ The next night _

At the end of my show tonight, I address the crowd. "Now, I'm sure all of you heard about somebody kidnapping the Mayor," I say, "It was all over the news. I'm very proud of that stunt, thank you very much. Now, I'm planning something else, and I need people. Anyone who is good with committing crimes, taking orders from me, and can use a gun. You will, of course, be wearing masks,"

"What will we be doing?" someone from the crowd yells.

"Why, exposing Batman's secret identity," I answer.

I hear exclamations from the crowd, some in the affirmative others in disbelief.

"If you want to help, come back stage after Penguin does his 'Goodnight' speech," I say, and I walk backstage. Penguin goes onstage and starts to talk to the crowd, but I tune him out. I'm getting my stuff ready.

The party is tomorrow night.

\----------

_ Night of the party _

I'm waiting outside of Wayne Mansion, hiding in the bushes behind the house with roughly twenty other men, all heavily armed. I'm the closest to the backdoor, since I'm the first one that will be sneaking in. I start to run though the places I'm going to check in my head, when the door opens. 

It's Harley, in a very pretty black white and red dress. "Ok, you can come in now," she says to me.

I go inside and I look around. Wow, this place is fancy. I set to work. I go into each room, checking every wall for hollow spots, checking all of the books on the bookshelves for triggers, looking everywhere for secret buttons. Nothing. Then, I find Bruce's study. I check everywhere, and after three minutes, I find a trigger, and a bookcase opens like a door. Behind it is a staircase. I follow it, and I find the most beautiful thing ever. "He has a fucking Bat-cave!" I say to myself. I look around for the perfect evidence, and I grab a Batarang. I then head upstairs, close the secret door, and head back to the back door. I let my small army into the house and I lead them to the Ballroom. I take out a gun and shoot the ceiling. "Everybody, get to the sides of the room! Except Bruce Wayne. Come out and play, Brucie!" I yell. 

Everyone complies, and my "army" take their places, making sure nobody moves.

Harley comes over to me. I hand her mask to her, and she goes to the front hall, grabs a giant hammer that she built as her weapon, and comes back to the Ballroom.

Bruce Wayne steps forward.

"There you are! I have something to tell everyone here!" I turn to the crowd, "Your host tonight is none other than the big, bad, Batman!" I yell.

"Prove it," Bruce says.

I take out the Bat-arang. His eyes widen. "I found this in your house," I say, "along with the Batman suit, the Batmobile and a lot of other Bat related devices,"

There are gasps from the crowd.

"You know," Bruce says, "I just wanted you to know, I finally know what grudge I have against you,"

"And that would be?"

"What's your name?" he asks, "'Jay'? As in, Jason O'Riley? The same man who murdered my parents?"

"'Jason'?!" I say, "No, I'm Jackson O'Riley. Jason was my da…wait, WHAT?! My father was a good man. He died…no that can't be true…"

"How did he die?" Bruce says.

"In jail…" I say quietly.

"What was that?"

"In jail," I say loudly.

"And what was he in jail for?"

"He was wrongfully convicted!"

"For what?"

"Murder, but…I…he…UGHH!"

Then Bruce turns around and yells into the crowd, "Commissioner Cordon, call for reinforcements,"

Not even ten minutes later, we hear sirens from outside.

I turn to Harley. "Go," I say, "Take the men and go back to Freak Show,"

"What about you?" she asks, "They'll take you to Arkham Asylum!"

"Good!" I say, "I can find out more about my father,"

"But…Why are you telling me to go?"

"Because, I would rather me rotting in jail than you. I love you, Harley, and I'll keep you safe, even if it kills me,"

Her eyes start tearing up. She puts her hand on the side of my face, kisses me, and runs the opposite direction, signaling to the rest of the men. They all run with her. 

I stand in the middle of the ballroom. 

The entirety of the Gotham Police Force barge through the front doors and aim their guns at me.

I go onto my knees and I put my hands behind my head.

"Jackson O'Riley, you're under arrest…" Commissioner Cordon says to me.

"I know what for," I say to him.

He grabs my hands, stands me up, and cuffs them behind me. He starts to say my rights, but I stop him.

"You don't need to continue," I say, "I know my rights,"

"You'll need a muzzle on this one," Wane says to Cordon. 

"What, am I a dog now? Kicking me in the balls, twice, wasn't good enough?" I say to him.

"I could kick you again," Wane says.

"No, please, I'll be good," I say.

Wane then whispers something to Cordon, and he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket, and puts it over my mouth and my nose.

"What is this, chloroform?" I say, slowly blacking out. I wake up in a transit truck, in inmate cloths, and a Hannibal Lecter mask. Well, I guess this is it. I'm going to Arkham Asylum.


	8. Arkham

I'm walked in to Arkham Asylum with a bunch of other newcomers. Other inmates are looking at them, and saying things like, "You're mine!", but when I walk passed them, they're silent. I feel…dangerous.

"Alright," the Warden says to me, "here are your rules. You have to wear the mask in the courtyard, for visits, and in the halls. You don't have to wear it in your cell, and you have to take it off to eat. That's common sense. These aren't my rules, their Commissioner Cordon's,"

"So…only my roommate and people who sit near me at lunch will see my face?" I ask.

"Yeah, I know it's weird, but…"

"What?"

"If the people here knew that your old man is Jason O'Riley," he says, "…well, let's just say, it wouldn't be good,"

What did my dad do to make everyone here so mad at him? I'll have to find that out.

The Warden walks me down a long hallway, and to a room marked "666". Figures.

"I have to warn you," Warden says to me, "Your cellmate is a bit…weird. We call him Doc, but he likes to go by Scarecrow. His name is Dr. Jonathan Crane,"

"Well, I'll feel right at home, then," I say, but as I enter the cell, a man sitting in the corner lunges at me and forces me against the wall.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the man says, holding a scalpel to my neck.

"I'm your new cellmate," I say, slowly. 

He takes the scalpel from my neck, but just slightly.

"Hey, Doc," Warden says, "calm down. I got you a new package of meds for your…whatever you're doing,"

Still looking at me, Scarecrow walks away from me. After he grabs the package from Warden, he goes back to his corner, and I notice that there is a makeshift chem-lab in that corner.

"Now play nice," Warden says, closing the door and locking it behind him. He starts to laugh as he walks away.

Great. I'm locked in a room with a mad scientist.

"You can take your mask off," he says to me, looking at the meds in his package. 

I walk over to one of the beds, the one that doesn't look slept in, and I set the stuff that Warden gave me on the bed. A roll of toilet-paper, a spare pair of inmate uniform, two pairs of socks, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. I then reach behind my head, and I find the buckle holding my mask on my head. I undo the buckle, and I take my mask off. I rub my face. I set my mask on the table next to my bed.

Scarecrow then stands up and looks at me. "Well, not as bad as I thought it would be," he says.

"What is?"

"Your face, though now that you talk, I see that the seams of your mouth go up to your…cheekbones,"

I just look at him. This is actually going to be not very tortuous.

\----------

_ Later _

We're outside in the courtyards, which seems to be a everyday thing, and Scarecrow and I are standing in a corner.

"Do you know if my Dad was here?" I ask Scarecrow.

"I don't know. I got here a week ago," 

"Do you know anyone who would know…" but then a hand grabs my shoulder. 

"Why are you in the corner?" a gruff voice says, "All Fresh Meat has to see Bane on their first day," 

I turn around. "But what if I don't want to meet Bane?" I ask the man.

This man is about one inch shorter than me, and is very…buff.

"Then you're going to have a bad time," the man says.

I look at Scarecrow, and he just makes a shooing motion with his hands. I follow the man, and he takes me into a crowd. 

All of these prisoners seem to be crowding around one man. That must be Bane.

He has a prisoner attire on, but he has a mask on. Well, I say mask, but it's not like mine. It looks more like a respirator. When he speaks, it's muffled, but I can understand him. He has a slight British accent. "Ah, Greenie!" Bane says, "Thanks for joining us. I hope my associate wasn't too rough on you,"

All of the other men laugh.

I chuckle, playing along. "It's ok," I say, "If I didn't want to come over here, he would be on the ground right now. Do the guards care if we fight?"

"No," Bane says, "You think you're so tough?"

I shrug. 

One of the other men stands in between us, and Bane says, "Prove it,"

The man runs at me, and tries to throw a right hook. I catch his fist, and I shove my shoulder into his upper ribs, and I flip him over my shoulder.

Everyone backs away from me.

Another man runs at me, from behind me this time, but I turn around and I dodge him and trip him at the same time. He then gets back up and I chop him in the neck.

"Juno chop," I say quietly.

"Enough," Bane says, "Impressive, Greenie! You beat two of my toughest men,"

"My name isn't 'Greenie'," I say, "It's Joker, and I have a question," 

"What is it?" 

"Do you know a one Jason O'Riley?"

Everyone turns to me and gives me the death stare.

"Did I say something wrong?" I say.

"No, just don't say it again," Bane says, and all of men push me out of the crowd.

"Well," I say, "'How'd you do' to you too," 

I walk back over to the corner where Scarecrow is waiting for me. "I don't think he likes me very much," I say to him.

He just looks at me. "How could you be cracking a joke at a time like this?" he asks.

I shrug.

"I have no idea," I say, "It seems to be the only way I can speak that won't make me sound depressed,"

Scarecrow slightly smiles, and the bell rings for us to go back inside. It looks like I missed lunch, which is good because I don't want people to see my face…yet. I miss Harley. I want to see her.

Tomorrow is another day…


	9. How to Break a Heart

I wake up this morning, and I hear a brisk knocking at the cell door.

"O'Riley, package for you!" the guard says. He opens the food hatch, and slides in a large box.

"Wonder what it could be…" I grumble, still half asleep. I walk over and pick it up, then go back to open it on my bed. I rub my eyes so I can see it better. It's wrapped in brown paper and addressed to me. I open it. There is a canvas bag, some bags of sand, and two boxing gloves. There is also a note in it. When I read it, my heart flutters. It says:

_ Dearest Jay, _

_ I thought you could need something to occupy your time until the trial. It's a punching bag, although that may be obvious. I wanted to send something not very suspicious, so…yea. Oh, I nearly forgot. There are some cookies in the actual bag of the punching bag, so check in there before you fill it. _

_ I miss you dearly. Penguin is worried for his bar, since you were the only musician. Cat…well, she's Cat. _

_ I hope to see you soon. _

_ Love, _

_ Harley _

I start to tear up. I miss her too.

Then Scarecrow starts to wake up.

I look in the bag, and like she said there are cookies in there. They're peanut butter cookies. I  then stand up with the bag, and I look for a place to hang it. I decide on one of the pipes in the ceiling in the corner closest to my bed. I fill the bag with the sand Harley included. I then hang it on the pipe.

"Who sent you that?" Scarecrow asks.

"A good friend…" I say. I put the gloves on, just to see if they fit. I then punch the bag. Good, the pipe won't break.

\----------

That was about a year ago. 

I got through my court hearing without a scratch. Penguin bailed me out (and I have to pay him back over $15 thousand), but I was surprised that Harley wasn't there. I still have the punching bag. 

Penguin has also gotten me my own apartment, in an actual building, not too far away from Freak Show.

I've also bailed out Scarecrow and Bane, since my apartment is too big for one person. I'm glad to be back.

"We'll be glad to have you back," Penguin says as we walk toward Freak Show.

I'm wearing the mask I wore in prison, since I somehow convinced Bruce to let me have it. I'm also wearing a purple T-shirt with a black stripe across it, blue-jeans, black Converse high-tops, and I'm carrying my guitar.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see Harley again," I say, smiling. 

Penguin makes a half-cough-half-choke sound. He then clears his throat, and mumble something.

"What?" I say.

"See for yourself," he says, and gestures to the door.

I walk in, and I see Harley sitting on a man's lap, MAKING OUT WITH HIM! I nearly drop my guitar when I see this.

Harley is in a harlequin patterned burlesque outfit. 

The man is wearing a leather jacket, no shirt, ripped jeans, and way too much eyeliner for a guy. His face is also slightly scarred, like he has just finished healing from something.

"Honey," I say, in my most evil voice, "I'm home!"

Harley jumps up, panicked. "Jay!" she says, "I thought you were in jail!"

"Well, if you bothered to show at my trial, Penguin paid my bail," I say, seething with anger, "And is Guyliner here the reason why you stopped writing?"

"My name is Bass-Shredder by the way," the guy says, one hand on Harley's hip.

"I really couldn't give a damn," I say, "That's my stage, and that's my woman, so….back the fuck off,". I rush at him, grab him by the shoulders, and knee him in the balls. Damn, that feels good, having someone share in the same pain I felt.

"JAY!" Harley yells, "IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE ME AGAIN, LET HIM GO!!"

I'm holding the man by the throat at the moment. I let him go, and throw him at Harley.

"Yo, dude! You should be glad!" he says, "I love her,"

I look Harley in the eyes. "So did I," I say, and I walk away. "Penguin," I say as I pass him, "I quit. I'm not working here if those…whores are working here too,"

"But…how will you pay me back?" he asks.

"I was planning on busking, and I'll pay you half of what I earn each day, until I've paid in full,"

"Why only half?"

"I have to eat, don't I?"

Penguin looks at me, eyes full of sorrow, and lets me pass.

I turn back around when I'm at the door, and say, "Congrats, Bass-Shredder…."

"The name's Wilson," he says, "Wade Wilson,"

"Ok, Wade," I say, very, genuinely, defeated, "You've beaten me. You've taken my job, the love of my life, anything that's ever given me joy in life. Have fun…". I turn back around and walk out of the door. I take out the small box that I had in my pocket, open it, stare at the ring inside, then smash it on the sidewalk.

"Wait! Jay!" I hear Harley yell from behind me, "Please, Mr. Jay…" and she's right behind me.

"Don't call me Mr. Jay," and I spin around fast, and I backhand her in the face. I instantly regret that. I had promised myself that I would never raise a hand nor a fist to her, and I broke that promise. "Oh, God, I'm sorry," I say, nearly crying. I feel so stupid.

"I..*gasp, sob* I saw the ring *sob*," Harley says, "You were going to-"

"Don't finish that sentence," I say, "Go back to your new lover, and give him my apologies for literally busting his balls,". I turn around, and I keep walking, too angry at myself to look at any one. I find the nearest building, and I punch the corner of the wall, breaking it, and possibly some fingers. I get back to my apartment, and Bane is the first to greet me, as always.

"So, where is this lady friend, Greenie?" he says, and he sees how distraught I am. "Oh," He says in realization, then he looks at my hand, "Mm…I'll get some rags and ice," and he leaves the room to go to the kitchen.

I sit on one of our couches, and I basically melt into it. I just want to sit here and die.

Bane returns, and he grabs my hand. "Well, at least you didn't break anything," he says, "You would be screaming if you had,"

I'm silently crying, just because I can't stop.

"Well, I have some good news for you!" Bane says, "They've let a new music into Gotham,"

"And what is that?"

"It's a band called 'Twenty One Pilots'," he says, "I bought three of their full albums because I thought you would like it. They're in your room, by your stereo,"

"Oh, you know me so well," I say, smiling.

"I was also thinking," he says, "and I talked to the Doc about this. Would you want to put together a band?"

I think for a bit.

"I can play drums," Bane says, "and the Doc can play keyboard, and you, of course will play guitar, and sing. It may keep your mind off of this recent tragedy,"

I only nod, and when I go to my room I start to listen to the disks that Bane got me, and I think I found my new favorite band.


	10. Noise Pollution

Doc, Bane and I have quickly become the most popular cover band in Gotham, and we've even entertained some very important people, like Bruce Wayne himself (We're actually on good terms. Not that we're friends, or anything.), and the Mayor.

Our band is called “Noise Pollution”, since we are extremely loud. I've taught Doc how to play the bass guitar for when we play Metallica covers, and I've found that I can rap as fast as Tyler Joseph, the lead singer of Twenty One Pilots.

We're, at the moment, packing up our things into our truck after a show in the park, when a guy in a hoodie and jeans walks up to me.

"I don't give out autographs, so don't ask," I say to him.

"I'm not here for an autograph," the guy says. I recognize his voice.

"Wade, was it? I last saw you three months ago. How's Harley?" I say to him.

"That's why I'm here, Joker-"

"No,"

"What?"

"I don't go by 'Joker' anymore. I'm done with that life. Call me Jay,"

"Ok, Jay," he says, "She's been kidnaped,"

I drop the amp that I was lifting.

"Carefull, Greenie! That's expensive!" Bane yells at me.

"Sorry," I say, and I lift it back onto the truck. "Did they leave a ransom note?" I ask Wade.

"Yea," he says, "and they asked me to bring all three of you, and Harley will be released, unharmed,"

"Did they sign it?"

"No, but they left a calling card…of sorts,"

I look at him, and he flips me a coin. I catch it, and I examine it. 

It's a large coin, with no value written on it. Both sides are the same, the profile of a woman and the words "liberty" and "in god we trust". The only thing that's different about one side is that it's scratched, crossing out the woman's face and eye.

"Oh, god damn it!" I yell.

"Who is it?" Bane and Wade ask in unison.

"Harvey fucking Dent, better known as Two-Face," I growl, "He hasn't left me alone for the past two months! He thinks that I'm still a villain, and has asked me, multiple times, to join his little group of fiends,"

Everybody stares at me.

"All he asked was to see me, Bane, and Doc, right?" I say to Wade.

"Yea," he says, "Oh, and one more thing. The night she was kidnapped, Harley broke up with me,"

"Ha!" I say, but I cover my mouth, "Sorry, couldn't resist. I knew you weren't her type. Oh, but this is grand. Do you know what this means?" I look around at everyone.

"No," Doc says.

"I have a chance at getting her back!" I say, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go find a kidnapper!"


	11. A Plan is Made

I burst into the front doors of Freak Show, and I see Penguin sitting near the stage. There is no one else here, so it must be closed. "I'M BACK, PINGU!" I yell, and Penguin jumps, but then looks at me, angry.

"I told you never to call me that," he says, standing up.

I walk up to him, and I look at him, almost expectantly.

"What?" he says.

"Do it,"

"Do what?"

"Do the thing,"

He groans. "I told you, I'm never saying it again,"

"Oh, come on!" I say, "DoitdoitdoitdoitdoitI'mnotgoingtostopuntilyoudoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdo-"

"ALRIGHT!" he looks at me, annoyed, "Noot, noot," he says, bored sounding.

"Yay! Thanks," I say. 

"So," Wade says, "How are we going to find this Harvey Dent guy?"

"Suppose a crime," Penguin says, "and he'll come running to join you,"

"So we just write him a letter?" I ask, hands on my hips.

"I suppose," Penguin says as he sits back down where he was. He then continues to pour over some catalogs. I can't read upside-down, but I know a wedding-cake when I see one.

"Penguin?" I ask.

He looks up at me, and I can see how tired he is. I suddenly realize how mentally old my best friend is. "Yes?" he answers, and then yawns.

"Did you finally ask her?" I say.

Penguin smiles and says, "I forgot you weren't here for that. Yes I did, and she said 'yes', obviously,"

I walk over to him, and I shake his hand. "Well, congratulations," I say.

"I was wondering if you would like to be my best-man?" he says, and he stares at me.

I'm dumb-struck, and I can't seem to find anything to say. "Of course!" I manage.

Penguin smiles, and adds, "And I was also wondering if you and your band could play at the wedding. I'm having trouble finding musicians, so I thought I would ask you,"

"We'd love to," Bane says, "but could we get back to the task at hand?"

"Oh, yes," I say, "We need to write Harvey a letter…wait,"

"What?" Penguin asks.

"If you want to write a letter to someone," I say, "you need their address, right?"

"Duh," Doc says.

I glare at him. "Well, that means," I say, looking at everyone else, "all we need to do is get the address, find where it leads, and then we'll find Two Face,"

"Seems simple enough," Wade says, voice full of sarcasm, "but where are we going to find the address?"

I look at Penguin.

"What?" he asks, looking at me over his reading glasses.

"Didn't you go to college with the guy?" I ask.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have his address," Penguin huffs.

"But that doesn't mean you don't have a record of all of your clients," I say, "and I know that college friends sometimes keep in touch, so he would have stopped by from time to time,"

"But that doesn't mean I'll have his address," Penguin continues.

"Yes," I say, "but, realizing that he's still here in Gotham, you would have asked him for his address, being a good friend and all,"

Penguin crinkles up his face, and says, "I hate it when you do this Sherlock thing,". He pulls an index card from his waist-coat, and hands it to me.

I read the address multiple time, in disbelief. "That's the warehouse where we camped out in front of when we kidnapped the mayor," I say, almost crying in pain at the memory of being kicked in the balls twice in a row.

"I couldn't believe it either," Penguin says, "But it's the very same,"

"Well," Wade says, "now we know where to go. How about, all of us get ready to fight them, meet back here, and go to the warehouse tonight?"

I look at him. 

He looks almost too eager to fight someone.

"Sounds like a plan," Bane says, "We'll meet back here at 10 o'clock tonight,"

We all nod, and part ways.

Tonight is going to be fun.


	12. Hoodwinked

The weirdest thing was not where we were going, or that Penguin did not come with us, but what Wade was wearing.

"What in the hell is that?" I asked him when he showed up at Freak Show again in this ridiculous red and black suit.

"It's my suit for when I do things like this," he said, loading a gun, "on the mainland, I'm a mercenary. I'm known as Deadpool,"

"That's a stupid name," I said.

"So is 'Joker'," he said, "but, hey, who am I to judge,"

We're all now standing in front of the warehouse. I can hear some strange noises from inside, but everything is muffled, so I can't make much out.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Bane says.

"I don't know," I say, "but we're only here for Haley,"

Everyone else gives affirmatives, showing they understand.

We enter the warehouse cautiously.

The noises are coming from the back of the warehouse. It sounds like a mix of club music and the din of power tools.

"JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL JAY AND WADE GET HERE!" I can hear Haley scream, "THERE WILL BE NOTHING BUT BONES WHEN THEY'RE DONE WITH YOU!"

I follow the noise to a door labeled "Fun Room".

"Well that's kinky," Wade says, "We should decide on a safe word, here and now. I'm thinking 'Pork and Beans',"

"How about 'Idiot in Red'," I say back to him.

"Or 'Get a move on Greenie'," Bane says.

"That's it," Wade says, "'Greenie'!"

I roll my eyes and raise a fist at him. I grab the door handle, take out a gun, and open the door. I walk in, eyes scanning, and I don't like what I see.

There are five tables in the middle of the room, each with its own type of torture. 

One has little guillotine like cuffs where the ankles, wrists, fingers, and neck should be. So, I guess you'll be dismembered before being beheaded.

The next has a large box of water where a person's head would be. It also seems to have wires going to the wrist and ankle cuffs. Well, water and electricity doesn't mix, so…ouch.

The third table has something that looks like a small coffin, painted completely black. I wonder what's so bad about that.

The fourth is a bed of nails, most of them rusty, with sets of weighted plates above it. That's just…bad. I feel bad for whoever tries to take a nap there.

But it's the last table that makes my heart stop.

It has ankle and wrist cuffs, and a band across the middle. Hanging above it looks like a large, crescent shaped axe, held to one side on the ceiling, poised to fall and start swinging like a pendulum.

A pendulum. My mouth goes dry as I think of that word. What makes it worse is the pile of wood doused in what smells like gasoline. My mind starts to race, thinking of demonic shapes and rats. It's a torture straight out of "The Pit and the Pendulum,", the story that gave me nightmares.

"Where's Haley," Wade says, voice audibly shaking.

I tear my eyes away from the table, and look around. It looks like just an empty room with a black window in the back. 

That's when the voice comes over the speakers. "Why, Wade," Haley says, "I'm right here,"

A light comes on in the room behind the glass, and there's Haley, full "Harley Quinn" outfit, leaning on her giant hammer. "And it's Harley," she says. She smiles, and the man standing next to her starts to chuckle.

Half of his face is normal (neat, dark brown hair, green eye) the other is burned beyond recognition, hair turned wight. Half of his suit is black and white pin-striped, the other a dark purple. He's flipping a coin.

_ Two Face. _

The man standing next to him just stares at us. His suit is a bright green, covered in dark green question marks. His bowler hat matches, starkly contrasted against his bright orange hair, and he's holding a gold, question mark topped cane. He's wearing a green mask over his dark blue eyes.

_ The Riddler. _

The woman farthest from Harley scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Did you have to bring the British, masked brute?" she asks.

"Good to see you as well, Ivy," Bane mutters, staring at the bed of nails.

Poison Ivy seems to only be wearing a catsuit made of her namesake. But it seems like the vines grow out of her. Her scarlet hair is french braided, and she's wearing green heels.

I then realize that we were duped. "You were never kidnapped, were you?" I ask.

"Nope!" Harley laughs, "I thought you were smarter than to come after me, but…I guess love really does make men stupid,"

All four of them start to laugh.

I clench my fist and jaw. "So what are the tables for?" I ask.

"You'll find out when our last guest gets here," Two Face says.

"Last guest?" I mutter, and then I turn around and do a head count.

Me, Bane, Doc, Wade. Shit. That's only four.

"Who else would be coming?" I ask no one in particular.

It seems like the Universe wanted to answer me, because the door behind us gets kicked down. In steps my least favorite person in Gotham. Well, the person that a friend pretends to be.

"Batman?" I say, trying to make sure I don't say his name.

He looks at all of us, confused. "What are you doing here?" he asks.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing," I say.

"You're here because we asked you here," Two Face says.

We all turn to him.

"First of all," he says, waving his hand, "We need to disarm you,"

Droves of henchmen come out of hidden doors, and they forcefully search and take all of our weapons.

"And let's unmask two of our anonymous guests," Two Face says.

One henchman grabs Wade's wrists, and pulls off his mask.

Another tries to do the same to Bruce, but he starts to fight. It takes five men to hold him still and take his mask.

"Alright," Two Face, "now I'll let my associate The Riddler explain the tables here,"

The Riddler steps towards the glass, and pulls down his hat. "Riddle me this," he says, "What is a fate worse than death? A nightmarish, slow, painful death. All of the tables before you have been tailored to each of your worst nightmares. The first is for Scarecrow, scared of falling to pieces, both figuratively and literally. You will be shackled down to the table, and every minute, a piece of you will be cut off, starting with your fingers. Pinky first, then ring, then middle, then first, then thumb, left hand first, then your right hand. Unless you choose to join the Brotherhood of Villains,"

"Death is preferable to betraying my brothers," Doc shouts, "I'll see you in hell!"

Riddler just shakes his head, and waves his hand.

Two henchmen grab Doc and drag him over to the table. He thrashes as they strap his hands and feet in.

"Next," Riddler says, "the man made unkillable. Wade, you've suffered through everything Francis could muster, including suffocation. Well, we've found that what actually triggered your mutation was the suffocation, and we did the best we could. The box is filled with water, and is wired up with live cables, as are the wrist and ankle cuffs. Every minute, a pulse of electricity will go through everything, and the voltage will increase as the time goes by. But you have the same offer as Scarecrow. Will you join us?"

"No," he says, looking angrier than I have ever seen him, "I'd rather die,"

"And so you will," Riddler says.

Two henchmen force him over to the table, and strap him down.

"You will be put into the water when I say, 'go'," Riddler says. "Next," Riddler says, "The man who thought he became what he feared most. Bruce Wayne, what you really fear is being left utterly alone and isolated. This coffin you see is sound proof, sealed off from the light, and there is only a limited amount of oxygen. You can scream all you like, but no one can hear you, and it will use up oxygen. You don't get a choice,"

Five henchmen grab Bruce and force him into the coffin.

"Next," Riddler says, "The Freak. Bane, we made this bed of nails for you. Every minute a new weight will be added on top of your chest, until you are impaled. A slow and painful death. Unless you join us,"

"Just get this over with," Bane says, "I'll never join you,"

Riddler shakes his head.

Two men walk him over to the bed, and he doesn't struggle as he's lain down.

"And last, but not least," Riddler says, "the Clown. This torture was actually designed by Harley, just for you. She said that one of your worst nightmares came from the story 'Pit and the Pendulum', so…you will be strapped down on the table, a fire will be lit below you, and the pendulum will begin to swing. Every minute it will be lowered half a foot, until it cuts you in half. Unless you join us,"

I stare at him for a bit, my palms clammy. My heart is trying to run away, and my brain is telling me survival means joining them. But I can't betray all of these men giving in to death just to not be considered villains.

"I won't," I say, "but I'll make a deal,"

All of the Brotherhood perks up.

"And what's that?" Two Face says.

"I'll try to escape, and get my friends out, before any of us are hurt," I say, "But the tortures start after the last one ends. Like, after I escape, Bane's begins, and I have to undo the shackles and get him off before he's impaled,"

The Brotherhood look at each other.

"Deal," Two Face says, "If you lose, you all die. If you win, you all walk away, with your weapons, relatively unscathed,"

"This includes Bruce," I say.

Two Face pauses. "Yes," he sighs, "I suppose it does,"

I nod. "Deal," I say.

"Then let's begin," Riddler says, "This should be entertaining,"

Two henchmen grab me and walk me over to the table.

"You can do this Jay!" Bane says, his booming voice strained.

"You better not let me lose any limbs!" Doc says, voice quivering.

"I barely know you," Wade says, "And I stole your girl, so I don't mind if you take your sweet time with getting me out,"

"I'll save all of you guys!" I say, "And we'll all go out for drinks at Freak Show after!"

Then we're all silent. 

"Ready?" Riddler says, "Begin,"

The fire below me is lit, and the pendulum is dropped.


End file.
